Instant messages are electronic messages sent from device to device within an instant messaging (IM) community. Each of the devices displays a sequence of incoming and outgoing messages, typically in the form of a textual dialogue representing a conversation. However, these messages may include voice, video, still images, or electronic files in addition to, or in lieu of, text. IM differs from e-mail in that IM conversations occur in real time. Whereas email is a correspondence-based form of communication, IM provides users with the reassurance and satisfaction of receiving immediate replies. Accordingly, IM has experienced wide popularity among users of all ages.
One feature commonly offered by IM service providers is that a user can set up a list of contacts including friends, family members, colleagues, and others. The contact list is referred to as a “buddy list”, with each contact on the list known as a “buddy”. A user who is a member of an instant messaging (IM) community has a unique identifier in that community and can be added to the contact list of another member of the community using that unique identifier. This identifier (ID) is sometimes referred to as a contact name or buddy name. For example, short messaging service (SMS) is a form of IM that is available within the community of mobile telephone users, wherein the telephone number assigned to a mobile telephone functions as the unique identifier.
Another feature commonly offered by IM service providers is presence awareness. This feature provides an indication to a user specifying whether or not each of the buddies in the user's contact list is currently online and available to chat. At present, IM users can implement instant messaging using any of a plurality of device types such as wireless telephones, laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), Internet Protocol television (IPTV)-capable devices, and others. These devices may be utilized in conjunction with any of a variety of different communication platforms, such as wireless telephony, IP-based communication, and others. Existing techniques for indicating presence awareness merely indicate that a desired message recipient is online and available to receive a message, but do not provide any indication as to the type of device available to the recipient. Illustratively, if a sender wished to send a message in the form of a video clip, such a message could be viewed if a recipient was using the IPTV-capable device, but not if the recipient was using a cellphone. Unfortunately, the instant message sender is unaware of the capabilities of the device that the recipient will use to receive the instant message.